In Memorium

Yesterday, my son Brian called to inform me that his closest friend in the world, Adam Katz, passed away in an automobile accident in the early morning hours. My family and I have known Adam for over 16 years. He went to high school, religious studies, summer camps and college with my son. Many a night, the boys would have the crew over for poker games that would end in the wee hour of the morning and my wife and I would awaken to see a bunch of guys snoring on various couches, love seats, the floor etc, with empty soda cans and stale pizza remnants in the box.

Many of us have experienced the loss of a loved one, such as a parent, aunt/uncle, grandparent, sibling...this is the circle of life unfortunately. The loss of a child is in another category. For any of you who are parents out there, you know what I mean. We have confronted death in older family members and we grieve, but we are able at some point to move on.

I wanted to use this morning's entry to recognize the goodness, kindness and contribution to this world that Adam brought with him. Our hearts go out to his parents, sister, fiance and everyone else whose lives he touched.

My son told me that Adam had gone through an incredible health transition, shedding well over 100 pounds of weight. As an organization, we have decided recently to give away 2 free programs a month to people who had little resources, were out of work, and perhaps needed to get healthier to improve their chances of gaining employment. We will add Adam's name to this community program, calling it 'The Adam Katz Serotonin-Plus Work Ready Program", and everytime we help someone who needs our help but cannot afford it, this will be a tribute to Adam Katz.